I had the most exciting discovery
as I watched Shop Talk on ANC August this year. Ms. Mina Esguerra of Bronze Age
Media, Inc. talked about Online Indie (Independent) Publishing! Watch it here!
People who really know me, the
very few of them, know that I love writing stories. As much as I love planning
for the businesses I try to break into, in between the pages of the notebooks
and the journals where I compute costs and jot down product and marketing
ideas, are story plots and sequences, dialogues of still unnamed characters and
quotes that I will insert in a story I will write somewhere in time. I wish I
could help it but I can’t. I’ve been at it ever since I was a six. I guess the
only difference is during that time, I wrote it behind my history and geography
notebooks. Don’t tell my teachers.
I’ve posted a lot of my poetry,
short stories, and fan fiction under a pseudonym. I’ve gotten my share of
constructive criticism and flames (non-constructive ones). But the moment I
moved into writing my own fiction, of creating my own characters, of making
their story, of pencil pushing for days, weeks and months finding that elusive
yet perfect writing style for the story I was writing, I found more courage to
go to the next level. And the dream is to someday be published, for my writing
to be immortalized in some way.
“If you find yourself asking yourself (and your friends), "Am I really a writer? Am I really an artist?" chances are you are. The counterfeit innovator is wildly self-confident. The real one is scared to death.” ― Steven Pressfield, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battles
But there is a big fear standing
in the way of anyone wanting to be published or wanting to be successful for
that matter. We’ve read it in many success stories and it’s called rejection.
The world says that everything is business that it’s nothing personal. But for
the people who placed their hearts and souls to creating something they are
finally brave enough to show the world (albeit, after keeping it hidden hundreds
of times), it’s not business, though it comes later, at the beginning it’s
purely personal.
So wouldn’t it be great if we can
write our stories, publish it and offer it to potential readers ourselves?
That’s what Bronze Age Media, Inc. had to offer when they held their Author At
Once workshop last Saturday, October 27 at the Cafeccino by the Dome in
Eastwood Mall. They gave us a rundown of what to expect when you are looking
into publishing your own work online, from writing a good manuscript to finding
editors, beta-readers, book cover artists and printers even as far commissions
and in-depth statistics of how you can check how well you are doing online as
far as your book is concerned. They definitely didn’t hold back on any
information because they believe all good things deserve to be shared!
As for me, I am hyped up about
the idea of publishing my own book and having an administrative control over
it. It is easy to do, much like posting your story online in any website! Of
course, more diligence is needed like finding a good team to work with you because
you definitely cannot do this on your own. After all once you are published,
you are no longer posting it for free reading that’s why you have to make sure
that the entire package is worth your potential reader’s time and money.
Being a writer is truly a
humbling experience. It takes a lot of courage and humility to be one. I hope
other writers are inspired by the efforts Bronze Age Media is making through
sharing what they know. After all, there is no beauty in art, in whatever form,
unless it is shared with people who can appreciate it. People constantly look
for art that speaks to them. There is a way to be found. Make sure you are
found.
For more information about Bronze
Age Media, Inc.’s
Author At Once Workshop and other services, visit them at
www.bronzeage.ph. Follow them
on Facebook and Twitter as well!
Happy writing!
